


Paper Roses

by KisaraStrife



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Blueshipping, F/M, Mizushipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-18
Updated: 2013-01-18
Packaged: 2017-11-25 23:13:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/643986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KisaraStrife/pseuds/KisaraStrife
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Seto and Kisara were forced into marriage through the hands of Gozaburo and an acquaintance? It would be a farce - a convenient agreement between two vindictive men. Or could some scrap of passion flicker to life? But surely any feelings wouldn't survive the tangled dangers and secrets that float forward from the past.</p>
<p>I realized the way your eyes deceived me ... with tender looks that I mistook for love ... There isn't any sweetness is your heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Paper Roses

_ **~ Chapter 1: Headlines ~** _

* * *

 

" _Walking through a dream, I see you / My light in darkness, breathing hope of new life_ "

* * *

 

The crowds had been gathering outside the KaibaCorp building for two weeks now; more and more news crews everyday. The story had leaked outside of Japan and spread worldwide like some kind of contagious epidemic. In the last three or four days, the Japanese news crews had been joined by their European and American counterparts; all eager to cover the story that had swept the globe in a matter of days.

"So, you're actually going through with this then?"

He didn't answer Mokuba's inquiry; he didn't have the energy to. For a fortnight now, it had been press conferences in the mornings, board meetings all day, an interview in the evening and back to the mansion to finish some work, fall asleep at his desk for two hours, then morning time again and more press conferences. The young man was now running on non-existent energy, and just about ready to burn out.

"Seto …"

"Leave me alone."

He groaned as his brother pushed him slightly, wanting an answer he refused to give. Seto Kaiba kept his heavy eyelids closed and leaned his head against the ever-familiar desk, wanting nothing more but to sleep for days on end and not wake up to this hectic paparazzi buzz of a life. Another push on his shoulder, which Seto deftly ignored again, hoping Mokuba would lose interest and disappear for a while with his girlfriend, Rebecca Hawkins. God, it was still hard to believe the kid even had a girlfriend, let alone been with her for eighteen months now. It seemed not that long ago he was just a thirteen-year-old kid who tagged along with his older brother – Mokuba was now sixteen and a fully-fledged teenager with a long-term girlfriend and social life; a lot more than what he'd ever had, even now at twenty-one. Another push to his shoulder from the frustrated younger male; a bit more forceful this time, earning a murmured answer from the exhausted CEO.

"Go play with your girlfriend. You're a teenager; experiment and leave me alone …"

"Seto, you're getting married!"

Ugh, that word again; why was the whole world suddenly transfixed with his personal life when marriage was mentioned? Now fully awake, Seto Kaiba let loose a weary groan as reality seemed to rush back; if Gozaburo wasn't already dead, he'd kill the old codger all over again for this mess he'd landed him in. It wasn't enough just to ruin his life when he was alive. With little all else to do, the elder Kaiba brother shrugged his shoulders; an action he had never been familiar with in the past, and yet had grown accustomed to in the last few weeks. Mokuba had grown tall, almost rivalling him at this stage, and gone was the long shaggy mess of ebony; the youth now sported short black hair, making him look older than his sixteen years. He'd grown a lot in the last three years.

"What choice do I have, Mokuba?"

The cold blue eyes looked tired as they stared up at him; Seto was genuinely looking for an answer. This was all their step-father's fault; just when you thought life was back on track, the old man managed to mess it all up from beyond the grave. Seto had turned twenty-one those two hectic weeks ago and with that milestone birthday had come the reading of Gozaburo Kaiba's will. Everything had been fine until the lawyer had read out one of the specifications towards the end, initiating the arrival of all the news crews only days later.

" _As agreed when he was aged thirteen, Seto will marry the heir to Ashbrook Estates, Kisara Ashbrook. The engagement will commence upon the reading of this will. Upon denial of this stipulation, Seto Kaiba will be denounced of the name Kaiba, and his assets forfeited to the Schroeder family of Germany along with the Ashbrook Estates, with Ms. Ashbrook marrying Zigfried Von Schroeder instead_."

Though he could barely remember the occasion, being only eight years old at the time, Mokuba recalled being at a large-scale function in Germany, at the Schroeder castle. Gozaburo had spent the night speaking with two other men, one pink-haired and the other a bright blond. The hours had been passed at a table in hushed voices; Seto's name had been offered into the conversation by their step-father, with the pink-haired man disagreeing and mentioning a " _Zigfried_ " into the fray. At that, the blond had shaken his head and looked back to Gozaburo, nodding and shaking hands across the table with the older man. It was only now, eight years later, that Mokuba realized what the conversation had been about that night – arranging the marriage of two mere children.

"But it's not just your life you could ruin, bro; you have to think of her's aswell."

With that, the sixteen-year-old patted his brother's shoulder and exited the study. There was one good thing that had come with the sudden media frenzy focusing on Seto; he and Rebecca could walk about Domino without any cameras in their faces nowadays.

* * *

 The sound of knocking was what woke him from the accidental nap he'd taken; atop the same desk as usual. Roland was standing at the door of the elaborate study, hidden eyes locked onto his young employer, half-sorry to knock as the youth woke up. Seto silently cursed himself for falling asleep; there was so much to be done and organised within KaibaCorp, let alone in his own life at the moment. Not wanting to hear of how another reporter had tried to get into KaibaCorp, or a fangirl onto the mansion's grounds, the young man spoke the first words that came to mind; he knew nothing about this girl, except for what the newspapers were circulating.

"Roland, tell me what you know about Kisara Ashbrook."

The head of KaibaCorp Security thought for a second or two as the younger man stifled a yawn; the question was anticipated in the very least; wouldn't she be the lady of the Kaiba Mansion soon?

"Well, Mr. Kaiba, sir, she's a year younger than you, niece of Jonathon Ashbrook and heir to the family estates-"

"I know all that, Roland. Humour me for a second; what is she really like?"

Another few seconds of silence, during which thoughts were re-organized once more, and then hesitantly spoken by the uniformed man. He didn't like talking about someone not present; it felt disrespectful in his opinion, but if Mr. Kaiba asked ...

"Intelligent and articulate, sir. A young woman with a peculiar beauty, but painfully shy it would seem."

"Thank you."

With that nod from the young CEO, Roland took his leave; whatever he had intended to tell the young man had vanished from his mind and could wait until later; the youth looked like he could do with a rest.

Seto Kaiba heaved a heavy sigh as he typed the young woman's name into the search engine on his laptop, thousands of images being returned in a matter of seconds. Mokuba was right about ruining two lives, but what could he do? If he declined the marriage then not only would KaibaCorp be forfeited to that pink-haired pansy, so would the Ashbrook Estates; they needed this wedding as much as KaibaCorp did thanks to that damned stipulation. Gozaburo and Jonathon must have foreseen the trouble and hype an arranged marriage would cause, for the shrewd men included a failsafe in their agreement; if he declined, then KaibaCorp would be forfeit to Schroeder and so would the Ashbrook Estates, along with their heiress. Though he reckoned he had no choice in the matter, Seto felt guilty for the young woman called Kisara; she had no choice whatsoever, being thrown about from company-owner to company-owner.

Thousands of people would be out of work if this thing didn't go ahead in the foreseeable future. Ruin two lives, or thousands? With the way the economy in Japan and Europe was going at the moment, he really had no other option.

With a groan of defeat, Seto looked back to the picture on-screen. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad? She was intelligent and attractive, but he doubted she knew much about the workings of a business. Gozaburo had mentioned something to her uncle all those years ago when the marriage had been decided.

"She may not know anything about our world, but Seto has enough brains for both of them; she'll make a great trophy-wife either way."

A trophy-wife, was that really what he was signing himself up for? Someone to leech from his account and occupy herself shopping? Somehow he doubted it; the blue eyes and colourless tresses seemed to speak of a hidden intelligence, and a sorrow. A sorrow most likely for this whole sordid affair their guardians had set up years ago.

Either way, that was the headline gracing every newspaper and television screen world-wide; " _Marriage of Kaiba and Ashbrook; love or publicity stunt?_ "

Shaking his head and letting sleep take over once again, Seto Kaiba wished to know the answer.

* * *

**A/n- Please let me know what you thought, and thanks a million for taking the time to read it; it means the world to me! XxxxxxxxxxX**

 


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